The present invention is useful in the automotive arts; however, it is generally applicable to any type of door, liftgate or window. By way of background, a number of functions or processes are needed to open a door. Consider a typical automotive door that is closed and one that has been locked, for example by sensing the presence of a certain type of passive sensor, manually activating a key-fob, pressing a button or manually with a key. To move this door from its closed position within its frame to an open position the door must be moved from a locked condition to an unlocked condition. As can be appreciated, in these orientations the door is still fixed to its frame and in a closed position. The second function that needs to be accomplished is to disengage the door's latching mechanism, to unlatch the door and, finally, the door needs to be moved from its closed position to an open position. The physical act of opening the door can be done manually or by an automated system as found in may vans and SUV's.
One basic problem with these fairly new automatic locking/unlocking and latching/unlatching systems is the degree of frustration they create in the user. For example, the person approaching the door for the purpose of opening the door and gaining entry into the vehicle is never certain of the lock/unlock/latch/unlatch state of the door. More often than not, the user will attempt to open the door that he or she believes to be unlocked only to find that the automatic system has once again failed, in the context of not placing the door in the physical state that is desired by the user. These deficiencies are solved by the present invention while still providing the desired security and safety of conventional door locking and latching mechanisms.
In US Patent Publication 2003/0216817 published on Nov. 20, 2003, a vehicle access system was proposed that provided a sensor positioned between a structural part and a cover of a handle wherein the user's interaction with the handle authorized the part to be unlatched. The handle in the preferred embodiment was rigidly attached and non-moveable, eliminating the need for most if not all of the mechanical components commonly associated with conventional mechanical latching mechanisms.
While a vast improvement over the more conventional systems, this handle still provided the same problem of identifying the status of the lock/unlock condition and therefore, similar to the prior art devices, the ability to unlatch the door is still dependent on the locked/unlocked status of the door.
The present invention provides a clever and genuinely simple way in which the user can insure the status of an access door, window or a trunk lid is in an unlatch mode as opposed to a lock/unlock mode as he attempts to open the door, window or lid.